Chuck DeLuca held his first auction of firefighting memorabilia in 1980. Although he has never been in the fire service, he said he bought a vintage fire pumper and "thought it would be a good centerpiece for a sale." It seems he was right.
Photo by Ed Pfeiffer Drawing one of the highest prices in the sale, $1,815, was this silver speaking trumpet. It is inscribed, "Niagara Albany N.Y. 6 Engine - Presented by the Co. to Edward Scanell, April 1, 1867."
Photo by Ed Pfeiffer A parade helmet marked "Foreman 3 Nashua" from New Hampshire was bid to $4,000, not enough to top its "reserve" (the minimum acceptable price set by the consignor), so it was not sold.
Today, the Maine man's twice-yearly auctions of firefighting collectibles serve as a guide to current interests in the category and an indication of general market price levels.
A sale in Byfield, MA, drew about 100 people, most of them members of fire departments. In addition to the would-be buyers in the hall, there were some three dozen absentee bidders and they bought about half of the sale's highest-priced lots.
The auction's featured offering, shown on the catalog cover and displayed on a trailer outside of the auction hall, was a well-restored handtub fire engine, said to be from a German manufacturer and inscribed "Volunteer Fire Brigade Messern 1887." The old engine drew a $3,250 opening offer followed by very brief bidding. It sold for $3,850, including a 10% "buyer's premium" that most auctioneers add to the "hammer price." All prices in this article include the 10% premium.
The final bid on the old handtub was offered by Vincent Jarosz, who was buying it for the Handtub Association Inc. in Newmarket, NH. Jarosz, captain of the Newmarket ambulance unit, is president of the handtub group, which has collected and restored six pre-1895 handtubs.
Photo by Ed Pfeiffer Made by Wooster Brass Co., this large deluge gun went for $165.
Although it was the biggest and probably the most unusual item in the sale, the vintage engine did not draw the sale's highest price. That distinction went to a very rare Gamewell fire alarm gong with a 15-inch-diameter brass bell. It sold for $5,225. Three other gongs were among the auction's 10 highest-priced lots. An early weight-driven gong, made by Charles Chester of New York, left the block at $3,025; one produced by The Northern Electric & Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Gamewell's Canadian licensee) with an 1888 patent date fetched $2,420; and a 22-foot-tall Moses Crane-style Gamewell house gong sold for $1,815.
Most of the two dozen helmets in the sale sold for three-figure prices. A black helmet made by Oak Hall, Boston, sold for $468 and a white 84-comb helmet lettered "Relief" went for $358. The earliest helmet in the sale was an 1830 helmet marked "Foreman 3 Nashua" from New Hampshire. Bidding climbed to $4,000, not enough to top the "reserve," the minimum acceptable price set by the consignor, and the helmet did not sell.
Leading the prices for alarm boxes were three Gamewell fire alarm telegraph stations: an early weight-driven No. 446 that sold for $495; a No. 123 keyless station that had been made into a lamp ($440); and a 12-inch-tall No. 24 cottage style, with key and in working condition ($275).
Among other items sold were an ornate silver speaking trumpet with tassel that went for $1,210. About 30 inches tall and with a 71/2-inch round bell, it was inscribed, "Compliments of Mountain Hose 4 Binghamton N.Y." A 20-inch brass trumpet that had been presented to the Hartford Veteran Firemen Association in 1935 found a buyer at $633.
Prints, photographs, certificates and other paper collectibles were scattered throughout the sale. A 10-by-14-inch print, which the catalog noted was probably hand-tinted, showed the Montauk, NY, firehouse and a title, "A Fire Engine House of Moderate Cost." Bidding climbed to a $440 sale. Two Buchanan & Lyle prints, sold as separate lots, showed companies with horse-drawn equipment rushing to fires. One, with a steamer and ladder truck underway together, drew a $550 price; the other, showing a pumper responding, fetched $220.
Ed Pfeiffer is a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in antique and collectible items. For auction dates and catalogs, contact Chuck DeLuca of Maritime Auctions at (207) 363-4247; fax (207) 363-1416.
